Ralph A. Dunn, 90

Ex-legislator stayed true to southern Illinois roots

Ralph A. Dunn, a former state senator and representative from the 58th District, never abandoned his roots in southern Illinois.

During 22 years in office, Mr. Dunn, a Republican, believed in keeping close to his constituents and acting on their demands, said current and former Illinois lawmakers.

"He was always ready to help those people from his district," said Rep. Mike Bost (R-Carbondale). Bost repeated words of advice that the seasoned politician once gave him: "Always be available to [constituents] and remember you're their elected representative."

Mr. Dunn, 90, died of complications from pneumonia Monday, May 3, in a hospital in Downstate DuQuoin.

Starting in 1973, he spent 12 years in the state House of Representatives, followed by 10 years in the Illinois Senate. He retired from politics in 1995.

The votes Mr. Dunn cast as a senator included one in 1993 for a financial bailout plan for Chicago Public Schools. In 1989 he opposed a ban on importing, selling or owning semi-automatic weapons.

In 1979, when he was in the House, Mr. Dunn introduced a measure to raise the state's legal drinking age to 21. House Bill 21 made its way to the Senate, where it was enacted.

Mr. Dunn probably will be best remembered for the things he did for the people of southern Illinois. Apart from spearheading state road, sewer and water projects, he persuaded state lawmakers to put $7 million into converting a power plant at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale into a coal burner. That saved the jobs of hundreds of local coal miners, Mr. Dunn's former colleagues said.

He also brought in money needed for a bigger project: construction of the university's economic development center, which is named after him.

But even those achievements are "not what Ralph Dunn will be remembered for," Glenn Poshard said. "He will be remembered as being a gentleman. He never used his power to bludgeon [others], and he was very much willing to work across the aisle with members of both parties."

Poshard, chairman of the SIU Board of Trustees and a Democrat, is a former state lawmaker who worked with Mr. Dunn in the Senate for five years in the 1980s. They often drove home together from Springfield.

DuQuoin, the town where Mr. Dunn lived and died, is a short drive from his birthplace, Pinckneyville.

The eldest of six children, Mr. Dunn had to care for his siblings when their parents died relatively young, said his daughter Catherine Sunnquist. Mr. Dunn and two brothers started a business. Dunn Brothers mixed concrete and sold concrete blocks. The business expanded into a Pontiac dealership.

After 28 years in the business, Mr. Dunn decided to run for election in 1970 to the Constitutional Convention. At age 58, he was elected to the state House of Representatives.

Mr. Dunn is also survived by his daughters Janet Johnson and Florence Dunn-O'Neal; a son, Jerry; 12 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, followed by a memorial service, at First Baptist Church in DuQuoin.